A Walk in the Woods
Broad Green Pictures | Release Date: September 2, 2015 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
51
METASCORE
Mixed or average reviews based on 30 Critic Reviews
Positive:
8
Mixed:
19
Negative:
3
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Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
80
The Hollywood ReporterTodd McCarthyJan 31, 2015
A Walk in the Woods serves as a terrific showcase for two exceptionally durable stars. Read full review
75
ObserverMatthew KasselSep 2, 2015
The real pleasures are not to be found in the sweeping shots of the Great Smoky Mountains but in seeing how Mr. Redford and Mr. Nolte’s characters learn to get along. Read full review
75
Entertainment WeeklyLeah GreenblattSep 2, 2015
Their odd couple interplay propels a series of shambling, expletive-laden mishaps that aim more for easy laughs than Wild epiphanies. Read full review
75
Movie NationRoger MooreAug 31, 2015
It is funny, and Redford, gracious as ever, makes a wonderful straight-man for a comic co-costar who has the face, voice and posture of a geezer who probably should have tackled this healing hike 20 years earlier. Read full review
67
Austin ChronicleMarjorie BaumgartenSep 2, 2015
What A Walk in the Woods doesn’t have, however, is plot, character development, narrative conflict, and resolution – in other words, a destination. Read full review
63
ReelViewsJames BerardinelliSep 4, 2015
A Walk in the Woods is surprisingly funny at times but, like many comedies, it runs out of steam about halfway through. Read full review
63
Boston GlobePeter KeoughSep 2, 2015
It consists of a series of episodic encounters, misadventures, and musings redeemed in part by the presence of two scenic wonders, the unspoiled 2,190-mile grandeur of the Appalachian Trail and the spectacular crapulousness of Nick Nolte. Read full review
63
RogerEbert.comSusan WloszczynaSep 2, 2015
These guys still know how to not just hold our attention but grab it, even if their current film needs them more than they need it. Read full review
60
Time Out LondonTrevor JohnstonSep 16, 2015
Ultimately superficial yet watchable throughout, it’s the very definition of classy fluff. Read full review
60
TheWrapTricia OlszewskiSep 15, 2015
If you think man-crack is the apex of hilarity, A Walk in the Woods just might be the movie for you. It’s all right there in the trailers: slapstick, womp-womp one-liners, the premise of old buddies going on an adventure. Read full review
60
EmpireAngie ErrigoSep 14, 2015
This slight, lightly charming comic adventure is most obviously appealing for the "Best Exotic Marigold Hotel" set — though Bryson himself was in his forties when he made his journey. Read full review
60
New York Daily NewsJoe NeumaierSep 3, 2015
“Natural” perfectly describes Nolte’s performance, too. With his growly voice and bear-like aura, he might be dismissed as a walking sight gag, but don’t let that fool you. Nolte’s way with a joke is nimble, and his delivery is spot-on. Read full review
60
The GuardianBrian MoylanSep 2, 2015
A Walk in the Woods is certainly no Butch Cassidy, but it is interesting to check in with these two still-compelling codgers. Read full review
60
The New York TimesManohla DargisSep 2, 2015
It is unexpectedly moving and occasionally delightful to spend time with these titans of cinema as they walk and sometimes wobble, delivering words that become meaningful because they’re lucky enough to be spoken by Mr. Redford and Mr. Nolte. Read full review
60
VarietyDennis HarveyJan 31, 2015
It’s pleasant enough cinematic comfort food, but even so, you may be hungry again soon afterward. Read full review
50
New York Magazine (Vulture)Bilge EbiriSep 7, 2015
The lax, lame A Walk in the Woods is a road movie without a road, a journey of self-discovery without discovery, and a tale of friendship without any chemistry. Read full review
50
The Globe and Mail (Toronto)John SemleySep 2, 2015
The nature of this fantasy is boringly feel-good and aspirational. Read full review
50
Miami HeraldConnie OgleSep 2, 2015
Too much of the breezy humor that made the book a delight is stripped away, replaced with predictable jokes and broad slapstick, sitcom-quality encounters with women and bears and a pushy, grating sentimentality. Read full review
50
Chicago TribuneMichael PhillipsSep 2, 2015
It's not a difficult picture to watch. All you want from A Walk in the Woods, honestly, is a chance to enjoy a couple of veteran actors. But the book's comic tone hasn't found a comfortable equivalent for the screen. Read full review
50
San Francisco ChroniclePeter HartlaubSep 2, 2015
So this film feels less like an easy paycheck and more like semi-retirement. Whatever wisdom is coming out of Redford’s mouth as Bryson, it always seems 100 percent clear he pursued the role because the shoot would be beautiful and he could pal around with an old friend. Read full review
50
Village VoiceStephanie ZacharekSep 1, 2015
It has its charming, lively moments, but also many that just feel tired and listless, as if the filmmakers were working off a checklist of all the things two well-past-middle-age travelers would say and do while trekking through the wilderness. Read full review
50
New York PostLou LumenickSep 1, 2015
A Walk in the Woods is broad as a barn door, with two stars who have minimal chemistry — and there’s not much in the way of reflection about mortality. Read full review
50
Washington PostStephanie MerrySep 1, 2015
For a moment, the movie tries to be about something deeper — some existential epiphany, perhaps. The book didn’t deal in platitudes. It was content to be lightly educational, but mostly just entertaining. The movie aspires to be more than that, only to reveal how much less than that it really is. Read full review
50
Tampa Bay TimesSteve PersallSep 1, 2015
A Walk in the Woods is a trifle compared to 2014's Wild, which tracked a similar real-life journey toward self-discovery in richer detail. But darned if Redford's easy charm and Nolte's gravelly lack of it aren't enticing throughout. Read full review
50
Chicago Sun-TimesRichard RoeperSep 1, 2015
A middling sitcom. Read full review
40
Arizona RepublicRandy CordovaSep 2, 2015
Jack Lemmon and Walter Matthau never made a movie called Grumpy Old Men Go Camping. If they had, it surely would look a lot like A Walk in the Woods. Read full review
40
Screen DailyTim GriersonAug 28, 2015
One wouldn’t expect A Walk In The Woods to be a rat-a-tat-tat 1930s comedy, but between the stars’ rusty comic timing and the script’s stale setups, the movie simply isn’t that funny, more likely to produce a smile than even a chuckle. Read full review
33
Portland OregonianJeff BakerSep 1, 2015
It doesn't help that director Ken Kwapis stages everything like a sitcom, has no sense of pace, and buries the theme of late-life friendship under a haze of sentiment and trail dust. Read full review
30
Los Angeles TimesMark OlsenSep 2, 2015
Despite Redford's enthusiasm and best efforts, A Walk in the Woods is a tedious journey to nowhere special. Read full review
25
The A.V. ClubTasha RobinsonSep 1, 2015
Even when the film isn’t dealing with women, it’s contemptuous of the world in a way that rapidly becomes one-note and tiresome. Read full review
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